House Of The Dragon Season 3 Puts Two Of The Most Underrated Star Wars Actors Back Together

We are living in a golden age of sci-fi and fantasy television, and few series have achieved as much acclaim in those genres over the last five years as "Andor" from the Star Wars universe and the "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon." The latter, currently in its third season on HBO, has now intersected with "Andor" in a fun way for fans of both shows, bringing two supporting actors from the Star Wars series into close proximity in Westeros.

British actor Joplin Sibtain played Cassian Andor's close friend Brasso on "Andor," a stalwart member of the community on the scrapyard planet of Ferrix. Brasso takes up arms (well, bricks) against the Imperial occupation at the end of "Andor" Season 1 and leaves the planet with the rest of Cassian's remaining inner circle, only to be shot dead by Stormtroopers in the first arc of Season 2. In "House of the Dragon" Season 3, Sibtain plays Ser Jon Roxton (aka "Bold" Jon Roxton), a knight and the right-hand man of the sinister Ormund Hightower (James Norton).

While most "Andor" fans likely recognized Sibtain right away (his impressive stature makes him hard to miss), many may not have realized he's joined in "House of the Dragon" Season 3, Episode 4 by another denizen of Ferrix — Abhin Galeya, who plays scrap shop proprietor Salman Paak on "Andor." In "House of the Dragon" Season 3, Galeya plays Leo, the brother of Hugh Hammer's wife Kat. He has a couple of fraught encounters with Ormund's men, including Ser Roxton, and things sadly go the same way for him as they do for Salman in "Andor" Season 1.

It's not uncommon for two actors to pop up together in more than one TV series, especially when they're casting in similar parts for shows with large ensembles. But what's particularly interesting — surely coincidental, but still — about Joplin Sibtain and Abhin Galeya's reunion on "House of the Dragon" is how their new roles act as a sort of dark foil to their characters on "Andor." The stories around them are quite similar. Tumbleton, just like Ferrix, is a working-class town of regular people that is suddenly pressed under the boot of military occupation. Ormund Hightower and his cronies feel very similar to the Imperial forces that lay claim to Ferrix, and in both shows, Abhin Galeya plays an ordinary citizen caught up in the violence of that occupation.

In "Andor," he's identified as a rebel operative because of a secret radio hidden in his scrapyard. For his crimes, he is tortured and hung until dead. It's one of the most emotional moments in "Andor" Season 1 and it sets up a fantastic arc for Salman's son, Wilmon (Muhannad Ben Amor), over the course of the rest of the show. In "House of the Dragon," his character gains the unwanted attention of Ormund after coming to Kat's defense when a Hightower soldier attempts to assault her. He is pardoned at first, but Ormund brings him back under the cover of darkness and orders his Targaryen ward, Daeron, to burn the man to death with dragonfire. Galeya can't seem to catch a break on these shows, while Sibtain has switched sides to join the occupying force in "House of the Dragon."